The Accidental and the Purposeful
by jackandsamforever
Summary: This is in response to the "Liz punches Red" prompt on tumblr. I wanted the title to be "The One Time Liz Accidentally punched Red, and the One Time it Was On Purpose." Too long I guess. So that's what this fic is called.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing related to the Blacklist.

Liz's heart was pounding and her breathing was coming in short gasps. She had to stay quiet, it was imperative for her safety. She was looking for the blacklister that they'd had surrounded, but had somehow escaped into thin air. He was one of the worst on Red's list, being a pedophile, so it was extremely important that he was caught that night. He'd already victimized enough children and couldn't be allowed to carry on. The FBI agents had split up after his escape and spread out over a two block area and were searching each building for him.

She and Meera had received the unfortunate assignment of searching an old abandoned warehouse that was cold, dark and creepy. Of course they had to try to catch this guy when it was dark outside, because it would have been too easy in daylight. She shook her head with the absurdity of it all and refocused her thoughts. She couldn't have anyone attacking her from behind or sneaking out in front of her because she was annoyed with the situation. She needed to do her damn job and catch the bastard.

She'd sent Meera off in the opposite direction so they could check the building faster, and she had regretted that decision almost immediately. She felt exposed on all sides and her eyes kept playing tricks on her. She'd sworn that she'd seen shadows moving out of the corner of her eye at least three or four different times, but when she'd turned her flashlight towards them, there was nothing there.

She felt like she was six years old again, when she'd been terrified of the dark and called for her father to come and check in the closet and under the bed for monsters each night. He had patiently checked for her, and reassured her multiple times that there was nothing there, that it was just her imagination, but she never quite believed him. It took until she was fifteen or sixteen to stop sleeping with a light on in her room. Even now, at age thirty-five, she had nightmares and had to turn her bedside lamp on to keep the monsters out; only they were different monsters than when she was a little girl. These monsters were real, and she had recurring bad dreams about them killing her or Red right in front of her. She never could go back to sleep after those dreams, and often slipped out of bed and went downstairs to watch TV.

She wished she had someone to talk to about her insomnia, but she was no longer married, and she wasn't close enough to Ressler or Meera to talk to them. That left Red, and while she had grown closer to him over time and would understand what she was going through, she still didn't feel comfortable enough calling him in the middle of the night. He often asked why she looked so tired, but she would just brush him off with the excuse of, "Oh, I just went to bed late" or "I was working late". She didn't think he believed her, because he would narrow his eyes and purse his lips, but she would walk away before he had the chance to question her further.

Liz heard another sound and shook herself out of her thoughts once again. She could ruminate about Red later, her lack of attention could kill her now.

They'd been in the building for over a half hour and Liz was almost done with her section, she hadn't seen anything and figured that their blacklister wasn't in this building. She called over her radio to Meera, "Hey..anything?"

She heard Meera's fuzzy voice a moment later, "Nothing. I don't think he's here."

"Agreed, I have one more room to check then we can meet back at the front. Copy?"

"Copy. See you soon."

Liz attached her radio back to her belt and opened the last door. It was another empty room and Liz sighed with relief. She began to turn around, but felt the hairs on her neck and arms stand up. There was someone standing behind her.

She quickly turned around and punched whomever it was in the face as hard as she could, then kicked behind their knee to drop them. She heard a muffled cry that sounded awfully familiar and shined her flashlight on them. It was Red.

"Red! What the HELL are you doing here? I could have shot you. Why didn't you say anything?"

He took his hands off his face, and slowly sat up; blood was running from his nose as he squinted up at her.

"I didn't want you to shoot me before I had a chance to announce that it was me. I was trying to be quiet and not startle you, but obviously that had the opposite effect." He dug a handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped the blood away from his face, but it kept coming out, so he held it there.

She shook her head and holstered her gun, then held her hand out to help him up. He took it and stood up with a groan, putting all of his weight on his uninjured knee, "Nice defensive moves Lizzy, you've been taught well, you may have even torn a few ligaments in my knee."

She grimaced, "I'm sorry, but you have to admit that it's mostly your fault for scaring me."

He nodded, "It was my fault, and now I'll know from now from now on to never startle you, or you might break a few ribs." He smirked.

"Funny. Why are you here anyway?"

He put his arm around her shoulders for support and said, "They caught the blacklister in another building, but couldn't reach you on your radio to let you know. Naturally, I volunteered to inform you, but I'm regretting that decision now."

She put her arm around his waist and started leading him out of the room, "I'm not going to keep apologizing. That first apology is the only one you're going to get."

He huffed a small laugh, leaning almost all of his weight on her, "I wouldn't expect you to, sweetheart."

Liz sighed; she felt like she was being crushed, but was doing her best not to show it. It was partly her fault for this predicament, so she wasn't going to complain about his weight.

She called Meera over the radio and told her that she had Red with her, and that she might need help getting him out of the building because she injured him. The only response was Meera's cackling over the radio.

_One week later_

Liz sat in the hospital waiting room, waiting for Red to get out of knee surgery. She had torn his PCL when she'd kicked him, and now he was going to be on crutches for weeks. She felt a little bad; but he had been so obnoxious about it, that that sympathy was slowly morphing into annoyance.

Dembe was sitting a few chairs down from her reading a magazine and didn't seem to have a care in the world. Liz hated hospitals and was starting to feel a little anxious the longer she sat there.

After a couple of hours, the doctor walked out and said, "Are you Raymond's family?"

She didn't bother to correct him, so she stood up and nodded, "Yes, how did it go?" Dembe made his way over and stood beside Liz quietly.

The Doctor smiled, "Everything went well. He's in recovery now, but you should be able to see him within the hour. A nurse will come out and let you know."

Liz nodded, "Thanks."

The Doctor smiled and left the same way he'd come in.

After another forty-five minutes a nurse walked out, "You can go see him now if you want. He's a little out of it, so take what he says with a grain of salt."

Liz smiled, "Thanks, but that's not anything new for him."

The nurse looked a little confused but smiled again and walked away.

Liz turned to Dembe, "Why don't you go see him first, I'm not sure he'll want to see me."

Dembe shook his head, "Raymond always wants to see you, but I will go first and see how "out of it" he is."

"Thanks Dembe." She watched him as he walked through the doors, and Liz picked up a magazine that she'd already read through twice, and sighed.

Ten minutes passed before Dembe walked back in to the waiting room, "He is asking for you."

She stood up and smoothed her clothes and her hair, suddenly nervous. She saw Dembe watching her, and she blushed as he said, "You look fine Agent Keen. Do not be nervous."

She smiled and walked past him through the doors, taking a deep breath. Red was hard enough to deal with when he wasn't on drugs, she didn't know how he was going to be drugged up.

Liz approached his room and smiled as she walked in. He had a faraway look on his face, one she'd never seen on him before, and almost laughed. He must have heard her footsteps because he turned towards her with a goofy grin, "Lizzy! Aren't you a sight for sore eyes."

She shook her head, "Whatever Red, how are you feeling?"

He patted the bed next to him and said, "Come sit down and make yourself comfortable."

"The chair's fine."

His face went serious, "Please Lizzy, come sit next to me."

She hesitated, but acquiesced after a few moments, and settled herself next to his hip. He was warm, and smelled like the aftershave that she loved so much. "Are you in pain?"

He reached for her hand and she let him take it; he laced their fingers together, "I'm on so many drugs that I feel better than I have in _years_." The goofy grin was back and it made Liz laugh. She liked this side of him and wished he would show the more playful side of him more often. It didn't matter that this was drug induced.

She smiled, "Good, I'm glad."

"You know, Lizzy, this wouldn't be necessary if you wouldn't have punched me."

She patted his chest with her other hand, "And if you wouldn't have snuck up on me, then I wouldn't have had to punch you."

He laughed loudly, then captured her hand that was lying on his chest. He brought it up to his lips and kissed her scar gently then whispered, "I'm so sorry this happened to you."

She was confused at the sudden turn in subject, "Red, that happened a long time ago. I'm fine."

He made eye contact with her and suddenly didn't look drugged at all, "I know, but I still hate that I couldn't protect you."

She tried to pull her hand away but he tightened his grip, then kissed her wrist once more before letting it go.

Liz was flustered by the emotions he evoked in her and said, "I think it's time to let you rest. I'll be back later to check on you."

She started to stand up but Red stopped her with his words, "Will you lay here with me, until I fall asleep?"

"Red." She sighed, about to refuse him, but then saw the look on his face. He just wanted the company and someone there to support him, she couldn't deny him that.  
"Fine."

He smiled faintly and moved his body over a little, trying not to disturb his elevated leg.

She laid down next to him in the small space and tried not to touch him too much, but he put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. She didn't want to fight him, so she went willingly and laid her head on his shoulder. She felt him bury his nose in her hair, then kiss the top of her head, before settling himself back into the bed and closing his eyes.

Liz lay there, listening to the sound of his breathing, until it eventually lulled her into sleep as well.

OOOOOO

Dembe walked in an hour later, and found Raymond and Agent Keen asleep on the bed together. She had her arm wrapped around his waist and he had her pulled close with an arm around her shoulders. He smiled and turned around; he certainly wasn't going to be the one to wake them up and felt sorry for whoever's job that was.

**Author's Note: **This is part 1 of 2. This is set sometime in the future, but not too far, maybe a year or two after they began to work together. Thanks for reading and please let me know what you think. Good or bad. :)


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: **This is set three years after the first chapter.

Liz woke to the sound of her cell phone ringing on her bedside table and blindly reached for it behind her, but couldn't find it. She turned over as quickly as her sleep heavy body would allow, and saw it teetering on the edge. She reached for it, but instead of grabbing it, knocked it to the ground. _Dammit._

It stopped ringing soon after, and she flopped back down on the bed with a groan. She hated getting middle of the night calls, and it seemed like it had happened all too often lately. She reached over to the other side of the bed and felt the cold sheets. Red must have left to go take care of some "business".

She reached for her phone on the floor with a grunt and scooped it up, then listened to the voice mail from Agent Jennings telling her that they had a lead on the next blacklister and needed her to come in. Jonathan Jennings, or JJ as everyone called him, was the newbie on the squad. Cooper had tasked Liz to train him, so that's what she'd been doing the last four or five months. He was nice enough, and would be a good Agent eventually, but he was raw and made mistakes that she wasn't used to seeing since the original team was put together. Ressler was still around, but Meera had left six months ago for a less dangerous and better paying job. Liz couldn't blame her, she had a daughter she needed to stay alive for.

She knew JJ had a crush on her, and was getting more brave around her, asking her out for drinks after a case or for lunch so they could discuss "work". She always politely turned him down, but he was becoming more persistent and she needed to do something about it soon. He didn't know she was already taken; no one knew actually, because they'd kept it a secret and would continue to do so.

She quickly got dressed and sent a text to Red:

**Hey, I'm going in to the PO. There's been a break in the case. Can you meet us there?**

He responded as she walked out the door:

**I'll be there as soon as possible. Hopefully within the hour.**

She sent back a quick reply before she turned her car on:

**Ok. See you soon.**

She arrived at the Post Office and made her way to the main area. Ressler and JJ were bent over a map and didn't notice her until she greeted them, "Hey guys, what do we have?"

JJ's head shot up and he smiled at her, "Hey Liz." He was good-looking, with black hair, green eyes and a nice athletic build, and in another lifetime she might have been interested in him, but she was happier than she'd been in a long time; and already in love with another man.

She gave him a little smile, then looked at him expectantly with a raised eyebrow. He cleared his throat, "We received some intel tonight on the whereabouts of "The Drug Peddler". He was spotted in Arizona three hours ago; apparently he's using kids to smuggle his drugs into the country now."

Liz shook her head at how stupid some criminals could be, as Ressler interrupted her thoughts, "We have a jet waiting at the airport to take us so we can catch him today."

"We need to wait for Reddington; he should be here soon."

Ressler shook his head, "We don't have time, we-"

Red interrupted him as he walked in behind them, lightly touching the small of Liz's back in greeting as he passed her, "We don't have any time to waste, Donald. What are you waiting for? Let's go."

Ressler rolled his eyes and walked away towards the elevator, mumbling under his breath. For five years he'd been working with Red, and he never failed to become annoyed with him at least once a day, it amused Liz to no end.

JJ was still standing there and Liz turned to him, "What are you waiting for?"

He smiled, "I just wanted to walk with you to the car so we could discuss the case in more detail."

She missed the look that Red gave her as she nodded to JJ, "Well let's go then." She turned to Red and he quickly schooled his expression, "Coming?" Then turned and walked away.

He slowly trailed behind her and JJ, his eyes burning holes in the hand that JJ had on her elbow.

OOOOOO

The six hour flight from DC was uneventful, but she could tell something was bothering Red judging by the looks he kept giving her. She was sitting in the window seat with JJ next to her, and Red on his other side. JJ was asleep and snoring loudly, while leaning his head on Liz's shoulder; she didn't have to heart to push him off, so she endured it. She didn't like the smell of his aftershave and found herself wishing it was Red that was lying on her instead. She tried to catch his eye, but he suddenly found whatever he was looking at on his Ipad awfully interesting and never looked up again.

The seat belt light came on and she sighed in relief. She moved her shoulder slightly to wake JJ up, but when he kept on snoring, she tried to push him off more forcefully. He still didn't move, and she was about to say something when Red grabbed JJ's shoulder and pulled him off her roughly, then sat back against his seat and resumed staring at his Ipad.

JJ blinked slowly and smiled over at Liz sleepily, "Sorry, didn't mean to fall asleep."

"It's fine. We're almost there though, so you might want to put your seat belt on."

He fastened his seat belt as the captain's voice came over the speakers, _"Attention passengers, we'll be landing in ten minutes. Please make sure your seat belts are fastened and your trays are put away."_

JJ smiled at Liz, "I've never been to Arizona before. That's another great thing about this job, I get to see places that I normally wouldn't."

Liz quirked her mouth and nodded, but didn't say anything as the plane started to descend.

She was ready for this to be over with so she could go home and talk to Red about whatever was bothering him.

OOOOOO

It really hadn't been too hard to catch the Peddler. He was holed up in an abandoned factory, recruiting homeless teenagers to do his bidding. They had apprehended one of them and the teen gave him up easily, with the promise that he wouldn't be arrested if he helped. After determining where the dealer was, they'd surrounded the factory and stormed in with a SWAT team; and he'd given himself up quickly. There was a reason he was #215 on Red's list. Red hadn't even needed to come.

They were waiting around for everything to get finished up; they couldn't leave until the Tucson police chief and the local FBI gave them the go-ahead to transport the prisoner to DC.

Liz was sitting on a bench by the building, leaning her elbow on the armrest with her face in her hand. She was exhausted and felt the pull of sleep as her adrenaline wore down. She felt someone sit down close to her and expected it to be Red, but when she saw it was JJ she groaned internally. She didn't have the energy to deal with him now. He leaned back and put his arm on the back of the bench behind her, not quite touching her, but sitting closer than necessary. He smiled, "Hey, are you ok?"

She tried to move away from him, but didn't have anywhere to go, "Yeah, I'm just really tired. I haven't gotten enough sleep in the last few days."

He patted her back with his hand, then kept it there, "Yeah, I hear you, it's been rough. Do you want to go get a cup of coffee with me while we're waiting? I could use the caffeine and you obviously could too."

She shook her head and sat up so his hand would drop, "I need to go talk to Reddington about something, sorry."

She heard him sigh, but he smiled and patted her thigh, "Ok, we'll talk later."

Liz nodded and stood up to find something else to do, or anyone to talk to; anything to get away from JJ and his advances. She couldn't find Red, so she ended up chatting with Ressler until they received the go-ahead to transport the prisoner.

They boarded the jet and Liz hurried over to sit next to Red so she wouldn't have to sit next to JJ again. He didn't acknowledge her as she sat down, and she narrowed her brows in confusion; she didn't understand why he was giving her the cold shoulder. The flight back was uncomfortable and wrought with stilted conversation between them. The tension was rolling off of Red in waves, so she finally gave up on trying to engage him in any conversation. JJ tried to talk to her over Red's head, but he eventually gave up too.

After landing and driving back to the Post Office, Liz went to her desk and retrieved some files that she needed to go over at home. Red's back was to her as he chatted with Ressler and JJ. Liz made her way up to them and said, "Hey guys, I'm going to head home and go to bed. See you tomorrow."

Red didn't turn around, but JJ smiled, moved over to her and put his hand on her arm, "Can I walk you to your car? You never know who's lurking around in parking garages." She saw Red turn around and glance down at JJ's hand with disdain.

She finally realized what was bothering Red. He was jealous. Suddenly the way he'd been acting made sense and she couldn't believe how immature he was being.

Liz stepped back and shook her head, "I'll be fine. See ya." She turned around and walked towards the elevators, her thoughts troubled.

OOOOOO

When she walked in her house, she saw that Red was already there. He was sitting on the couch reading a book, still dressed in his dress shirt and vest, but devoid of a tie. He closed the book and stood up as soon as she walked in the room. She was ready to have it out with him, "Red, I don't know what you think is going on, but you're entirely wrong."

He walked towards her slowly, his face a blank mask, and said nothing.

She didn't back down as he reached her and grabbed her wrists tightly then leaned down close to her ear, "You could at least wait until I'm out of the room before you flirt with dear JJ."

She tried to push back to look at him in the face, but he held her tightly so she couldn't move. "Red, he's just infatuated. You know I'm not interested."

He nuzzled her ear with his nose then said in a low voice, "Do I? Do you think about him while we're having sex? Replace my face with his?"

He could be a real bastard when he wanted to be, even now, when they'd been together for a long time. She clenched her jaw and said through gritted teeth, "I'm not even going to grace that completely inappropriate comment with an answer. You know I want you, and only you, so let me go so I can go to bed, and maybe you can get over yourself by tomorrow."

He released her wrists, and she turned around and stalked away towards their bedroom without a second glance. She still couldn't believe he'd said that.

His next words, however, stopped her in her tracks, "Do try to keep your sex dreams about him quiet, I need a good night's sleep."

That was the last straw. She turned around and walked towards him with clenched fists, furious; before he could do or say anything, she punched his face as hard as she could. He didn't even flinch, but she could see the anger in his eyes brewing. She shook her hand out and said in a quiet, hurt voice, "You son of a bitch, you don't say things like that to the people you love... it's pretty obvious that you don't love me as much as I thought. Don't bother coming to bed."

She turned around and started walked away again, but before she could take more than five steps, she felt his hand on her arm, stopping her with a quiet, husky voice, "Lizzy."

She turned around and poked her finger into his chest, "No, you can't just apologize for saying those things and expect me to forgive you. It doesn't work like that."

Liz looked at his face and could see a bruise already forming on his cheek. She felt bad for hitting him, because that was never the answer, but also felt a little satisfaction for finally making him feel something.

He caught her finger and tugged her body towards him, then suddenly his mouth was on hers, hot and persistent. He put his hands on her waist and pulled her flush against him, then moved his mouth over hers until she responded in kind. She couldn't help herself; as mad as she was at him, she could never resist Raymond Reddington. His hands went under her shirt and splayed over her stomach, while his tongue moved inside her mouth and connected with hers. She felt light-headed and intoxicated and wouldn't be able to push him away now if she tried.

He moved them towards the couch while moving his hands over her bra-clad breasts. His mouth left hers and moved down to her neck to place warm, open-mouthed kisses, then whispered in her ear, "I'm sorry, Lizzy. I can be a real bastard."

She nodded while trying not to lose herself completely to him, "Yes, you can. It still doesn't make it ok."

He moved up to her mouth and kissed her deeply then pulled back and kissed her cheek, and said against her skin, "I know it doesn't. Let me show you how much you mean to me, and maybe you can find it within yourself to forgive me for my callous words."

He pushed her gently onto the couch, and as she laid down, he covered her body with his and moved to kiss her. She stopped him with a hand on his unshaven cheek, "I'll tell JJ tomorrow that I'm not interested, I think it's time to tell him so he'll stop thinking he has a chance."

He nodded, "That sounds like a perfectly fine idea to me." He moved to kiss her again, but she stopped him one last time, "I'm sorry for hitting you."

He grimaced, "I deserved it." Then moved his hands under her shirt again and began to show Liz exactly how sorry he was.

She was still angry at him, but every touch and caress went a long way towards helping her forgive him. She knew, going in, that it wasn't going to be easy to be with him, and that they were going to have their problems. She had to remind herself of that every so often, because when he was soft, warm and loving towards her, it was easy to forget what kind of person he could be with a flip of a switch. She loved him too much to give up on him.

**Author's Note: **Gah..this chapter gave me problems, so I don't know how well it turned out. Sorry if it disappointed! Thanks so much for the reviews/favorites/follows, I really appreciate everyone who read this. Please let me know what you think, even if it's to tell me what I could have done better. I'm going to return to updating "The Future Mrs. Reddington."


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